A Gun For Bones
by gawilliams
Summary: Booth does some soul searching after passing Sweets' on his range test for an issue gun.


_As the mood strikes me I am working on doing one or two stories off of each episode this season. I hope that this short one is one that everyone enjoys. Gregg._

_Disclaimer: I don't own, or profit from, these characters or franchise. No copyright infringement is intended._

Booth was sitting in bed relaxing as he waited for Bones to get out of the bathroom. More and more during the pregnancy she had had to spend lengthier amounts of time in the bathroom, but he didn't mind. Watching Bones get more and more fascinated by being pregnant, and also becoming emotionally bonded to their unborn daughter, was a special time for him. It confirmed for him everyday that she was going to be a great Mom.

But there were times that Booth also had to acknowledge that he had been wrong about some things over the years. Today was no different, and he was struggling with his conscience about it. When he had pulled some strings to be the Range Master during Sweets' quals on the range he had intended to be a real hard ass and make it damn near impossible for the kid to pass. Deep down he was willing to admit that he liked Sweets, and knew that the guy was only trying to help him and Bones, despite some piss poor advice at times, and his constant nagging. But what he saw on the range was a genuine determination, and the needed grit that showed Booth that hard ass or not, Sweets was the very kind of person he wanted to be watching his back in the field if necessary.

After that moment in the range, Booth began to think about Bones and her constant desire to have a permit for the gun she wanted to be allowed to carry in the field. Not her damn canon, but an issue piece that gave her the protection needed, but also the responsibility that came with it. His ruminations on the subject had led him to an important epiphany, and he was going to have to talk with her about it.

"Booth?" Bones interrupted his thoughts as she said his name and got in bed, sitting up beside him and pulling her laptop to her. "Are you alright? Is something wrong?"

"Yes?...No?...Well, I don't think so, but there is something we need to talk about," he told her, fumbling with it as he knew he would.

"Okay," Bones said slowly, showing him that while she was intrigued, she was still quite confused.

"I think, no wait, I _**know**_ I was wrong about not supporting you having a gun in the field," he told her directly.

Bones looked at him, shocked. Despite the long running, and, at times, very amusing, debate they had engaged in over the years about her carrying an issue gun, she had understood his reasons, and she had in fact shot a suspect early on. Granted there were extenuating circumstances, but she had pulled the trigger on the man. There had to be something bringing this about.

"What is causing you to change your mind on this?" she asked seriously.

Booth heard the tone, and did not pick up a hint of gloating at all. It made him feel better that she wasn't putting this conversation within the context of their long running debate.

"I pulled some strings to make sure I was the Range Master for Sweets' qualification run through the simulator," he admitted. The stern, disapproving look from Bones was what he expected, and what he knew he deserved. "I know it was wrong, Bones. I fully intended on finding something to fail him with and not have him issued a gun."

"What happened?" she asked him.

"He's good, Bones," Booth admitted. "But it wasn't just that that changed my mind. A bullet ricocheted and grazed his arm. I was ready to call it good right then once I checked him out, but he said he wanted to finish it. Bones, that's the kind of person I want watching my back in the field. A person that won't give up, and will keep on going even when it doesn't look good."

"You approved his being issued a gun," she surmised.

"Right then and there," he told her. "I also realized that the same kind of person I want watching my back with a gun when things go south, is someone who's **_always_** had my back just like that for the last seven years. I was too busy trying to be a guy's guy instead of really seeing what my partner was capable of."

"_**Is**_ capable of," she corrected, a smile on her face as she made the slight joke.

"The point is, Bones, that after the baby's born, and you get back to going into the field, I want you to go through the basic course and get qualified to have an issue gun," he told her. "I won't interfere, and I'll be the first one to congratulate you when you kick ass on your quals."

"Thank you," she told him. She could see by the way he was holding himself, and the slightly deeper tone of his voice, that he was very serious in what he was telling her. His approval of her had always meant a great deal, and this was just one more added layer of approval.

"I want you to promise me something, though," he continued, just as serious. He continued when he felt he still had her full attention. "You know what a gun can do. You know it won't be like those toy guns we were playing with when I got home tonight. If you are ever in a situation where someone is trying to hurt you seriously, or kill you, I want you to make sure you take them out. I'd do the same in those circumstances, Bones. It's not because I want you to kill someone, or I want to kill someone. Our daughter deserves to have both of us alive and well. I also know I couldn't do this without you. You having a gun will let me know that everything that can be done to keep you safe is being done."

"I promise," she told him.

The last thing he wanted was to have the whole night dominated by such a serious, and potentially maudlin, subject. He'd said what he wanted to tell her, and she had accepted it. Now was the time for some fun.

"So, what else did you see at the toy store?" he asked. He wasn't at all surprised this his genius girlfriend with the photographic memory began a lengthy monologue on every toy she had looked at and made sure he knew the pros and cons of each one. He settled back to enjoy it. Despite his worry about Bones in the future carrying an issue gun, his whole life was on the right track. _This_, he thought as he enjoyed hearing about a stuffed dragon, _is _**really**_ living the good life_.

_A/N: As I mentioned, these stories in the aftermath of the episodes of season seven are not necessarily going to be long, but will identify an aspect of the show and move ahead with it. I hope you enjoyed this one. Gregg._


End file.
